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little girl squirrel
Jul. 13th, 2009
09:51 am
what a busy week... off.
two openings to attend. some have found a home.
nice escape to Montreal with Simon. Although that was the start of a two day headache...
took lots of pictures for my upcoming show, they are incredible.
had some friends over, great food, great company as always. here is christian, our end of week visitor!
yellow on yellow.
had the best haircut ever. Andrea at Spatzio. I am hers for life.
Did a lot of food for Victoire (http://notrevictoire.blogspot.com/
working from the basement did not make for great pictures... this is all I got from the evening.
and after hours of great fun patching up holes, banging in the nails of the baseboards, caulking, we finally made holes in the wall ;)
i'm pretty sure it will take many forms... we have more shelves and a box - so we probably won't be able to help ourselves.
Jun. 30th, 2009
07:33 am
yesterday i brought my pieces over to the gallery.
i had a very rare feeling that i felt good about what i brought!! I looked around at the others in the group show and felt confident that i brought solid pieces.
a little one:
the opening is sunday. i believe i will have to stay there and chat with people, but it makes me less nervous as i actually like what i've done. the bigger piece i'm very happy with.
Jun. 23rd, 2009
Jun. 21st, 2009
09:27 pm
before stepping out to water the garden and to see the bats and the fireflies...
a first glimpse of my totally unglamorous but very much used and useful studio.
and a close up of an almost finished floating girl.
Jun. 18th, 2009
Jun. 16th, 2009
09:58 pm
i saw bats again tonight. i hear them from inside the house tonight.
i changed my mind about the homage to dave cooper. i cannot do pillowy girls. i leave it to the master. onto another challenge, but on more familiar grounds: elaine despins, a québécoise 'modern portrait' artist. (I dreamt and wished for a piece of hers... i was just missing, say, $10 000. I still am dreaming 3-4 years later.)
we ate very colorful chard for lunch.
Jun. 12th, 2009
10:56 am
i finally sat down and started painting. for real.
these two are almost done. I am not quite sure where they will be going... to the gallery as extra pieces, for the upcoming 'word' show (in which case I will need to write on them or prepare an elaborate little book) or if I send them out to those who asked for a first peek.
i guess this will be determined by how productive i can be in the next two weeks...
did i say that i loved our new house?
it was nice and sunny this morning. i closed the door to our room to let simon sleep in and this was the warm glow of our office...
Jun. 9th, 2009
11:47 am
slow morning, started off with yummy banana choc chip muffins...
again, what a week.
we had some guests for 7 straight days. (not the same ones the whole time...)
i now know that i cannot handle that. i need my alone time after about 2 days. not that i didn't enjoy the company, but there's just so much washing towels and bed linen and making lunches, breakfasts and dinners that i can do without feeling like a b&b. tiptoeing. being woken up by people taking a shower, by people going to the washroom...
last night, first night alone for Simon and i since forever... after work, we took a walk, read magazines, rented a movie, ate like kings. i slept like a baby.
this is my new bunny. My friend Amy gave it to me and it will receive much love. it kept me smiling friday night.
and Amy's art in our bedroom...
this week's highlights:
*i finally set-up my studio. started the Dave Cooper homage. started two other water-themed paintings.
*discovered that there was a mini-putt ten minutes away from our house. We played with Rachelle and Sven. Like being children again.
*The garden seems to be growing. Some little critter eats the parsley.
*Simon did a great show and was proud, that rarely happens. I hope he does more music for himself.
May. 29th, 2009
06:42 pm
guess what i did today...
i didn't draw or paint...
we now have, all happy and ready to grow:
rhubarb
strawberries
raspberries
chives
thyme
rosemary
garlic
leeks
lebanese cucumbers
jalapenos
lettuce
yellow and red tiny tomatoes
big pink tomatoes
la joie.
May. 28th, 2009
08:19 pm
tonight is the official start of the production marathon for the summer...
I have to do:
one piece for an homage due end of june
random pieces for a gallery that sold out (hmmmmm, asap.)
at least one piece for a group show for a lovely lady called Andrea. (I am inspired by that one!)
then the major pieces are for september ++. it would be so so good of me to be done in advance.
but i just feel like playing in the garden. tomorrow i have the day off and i feel like going out to buy vegetable plants and compost and just doing the garden... must. resist. temptation.
had a big talk with simon about contemporary art last night. every single time i go to one of those openings i feel like shit and feel like 'those people' look at my art and think it is so meaningless. I come home so depressed. Like they look down on people like me who try to make it pretty, lifelike and so full of symbols and feelings... i read the project explanations and artist background, the artist 'démarche', sat through the artist talk.
I would simply suck at those, it would go like so: hmm. i'm a sad person a lot of time. hmmm. i get really nervous and feel like puking a lot of the time. hmmm. i try to keep calm. hmm. i cry at night when no one watches. i cry while i paint. hmmm. yeah. that's why they look sad. but really you guys, i'm happy.
May. 21st, 2009
09:27 pm
i just came in from out back yard. this was a marvelous moment.
i saw about a dozen bats. bats fascinate me.
i just grabbed a blanky and watched the sky. one came about two feet from my face.
this makes me so happy.
today was my first day biking back from work. sweet jesus, that took me one hour!!!
i am not in shape. my bike is heavy and those three little gears don't help much.
years ago, i ran about the same distance as my friend rollerbladed next to me.
years before that, i biked for 3 hours, mostly uphill, without much complaining.
today, i was giving myself a pep talk for the last 30 minutes.
May. 19th, 2009
05:17 pm
oh, week flew by...
we don't see the days go. we work, come home, work on the house, shop for missing gadgets (like say, a lawnmower! a rake! a shovel! a hose!), and then fall asleep. late.
we met all the neighbors, they each came to introduce themselves (as i was on all four, taking out dandelions, great.) and visited some new spots in the neighborhood (les deux frères, the greatest bakery!!!!).
yesterday was a big day.
it started with:
a blackberry creation. then i made dough for a focaccia for lunch.
then, we planted cedars:
then, i relocated all (the *&$#@!!!!!) plants that were near the fence. i now know that i am not a gardening fanatic - 5 hours of it was waaaay too much. i was grumpy at the end, Donna, Daniel and their kids staring + the neighbors 3 doors down that stay on their porch all day. ALL day, ALL the time.
simon then proceeded to be rammed into by a teenager. boum. accident 3 for the new car. my man is all fine, the car a bit sad, yet again.
to lift our spirits: a ride on our bikes!!! we rode down to the marina and up the hills to his parent's house... (My 1930, 3 speed bike is just not a great match to simon's newly pimped road bike... it was a bit hard to keep up!)
and then, bbq:
...to finish the evening, we went to pick-up baseboards from simon's parents, another upcoming project...and painting the living room...and the dining room...and doing my studio...and taking more dandelions out...and maybe having time to start a garden...
art will hopefully start again this weekend (i only have sunday off, boo-hoo), i will be taking some fun pictures on Friday for an homage to Dave Cooper...Merci Katie.
***Marnie, you are one tricky girl. xx
***Amy, please move to Aylmer. ;P
May. 10th, 2009
10:57 pm
in a little over a week.
moved into our first house.
redid the paint, the floors, kind of unpacked.
dragged a box, hurt my back, walked like a granny for 4-5 days.
did a 7 course dinner for a friend's parents. totally exhausted. slept until 9am this morning, a record.
am amazed by the tranquility of our new surroundings, birds chirping, flowers, trees. have a fond memory of just lying in the grass, staring at the sky, all just perfect.
me and mister deer last night. so happy together.
Apr. 30th, 2009
07:33 am
tomorrow is the big move
i am a bit sad to leave my apartment... i've been here for 8 years (or more, can't remember), so of course, it is full of memories. when i moved in, i was such a sad person. relationships came and went, got my heart trampled on, broken, and then met the good one.
simon and i have been looking forward to this so so much. we've been acting like kids and i'm pretty sure we won't sleep tonight. the new house will be so fantastic. i put a lot of energy in the apartment, wait to see the effort that will go in the house. i will document everything, probably on my bear blogspot... i won't sleep for weeks.
packing packing...
Apr. 14th, 2009
07:28 am
oh i'm counting the days till we move.
this apartment is really full of nice memories but the house seems like a whole new life.
i know i won't sleep for days when we move.
we've already made plans for what should be done, i'm relieved to see that simon has just as much ambition as i do. we are both just obsessed about making it the perfect home.
we move friday. we paint saturday. we start floors that weekend if we can. help or no help.
i've been really inspired by this blog:
http://www.doorsixteen.com/
the girl has been posting pictures of her home as she renovates and it is pretty much the direction we want to take. i will most probably convert my food blog into a food&reno blog and let go of this one.
i've finally done all the commissions i had to do before moving.
one made me really proud, which rarely happens in these cases.
this is one that the people have not yet accepted, i hope they will like...
seven birds.
next weekend i will be taking pictures for an homage to a canadian artist. i have chosen to do an homage to Dave Cooper, it will be quite a challenge.
Mar. 27th, 2009
05:12 pm
i am totally in love with this blog:
http://www.doorsixteen.com
i keep going back and back and reading all her entries.
it gives me the confidence to totally redo the house that we bought. not that it need redoing... it is very nice as it is, we just need to make it ours. i am very confident when it comes to ripping apart and making it all look nice again, but simon i think gets a bit more worried. i need more blogs like this to make him less anxious towards home renovations (major ones, not like painting walls...)
I guess you will be seeing more and more 'manly' pictures of me with saws and grinders and sawdust all-over.
this is how the house makes me feel inside:
Mar. 22nd, 2009
05:52 pm
in a bit more than a month, i will dirty my hands in this soil.
a garden has already been started by the previous owners...
we bought a house. no words can express the joy and anticipation.
as soon a we stepped inside, we felt home.
Mar. 11th, 2009
Mar. 8th, 2009
05:45 pm
that's me! what a long day that was...
http://communities.canada.com/ottawacit
Mar. 6th, 2009
12:45 pm
i came back from toronto and left a piece of my heart there! it was a great city and i will go back just to look around and shop.
The highlight of my 3 day trip:
chippy's, we need that here!!!! Fish and chips any way you want it. Heaven.
Next to it was a great paper shop where I got gifts for 4 friends... Some of you still have to receive it!
We also ate at a place called temple kitchen, it was beautiful. Then, Jamie Kennedy. And Foxley, the food was great, but the server gave us flat Cava and would not change it for one with bubbles :(
The symposium went great. I spent the whole day Tuesday prepping the food with a coworker, survived the cocktail and then wanted to amputate my arms and legs so much they hurt.
I got to wear little name badges everywhere i went
we're still doing the househunt thing this weekend... i will start on the most awesome commission ever from a lady in Yukon...we'll be doing a blind tasting dinner with some friends...i have to survive an opening on sunday...and now i will nap!!!
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